The Weight of Unraveling
by Rachby
Summary: It's Fall Break at Barden and Beca Mitchell has no plans. But then, neither does Chloe Beale. Oh, and they both like each other. This is a lame summary but the story is quite rad. Rated M for mature audiences. #Bechloe
1. Chapter 1

Smirkfiction: Bechloe

The Weight of Unraveling

Author's Note: This takes place during the time period of the movie. Chloe doesn't have nodes. That's all you really need to know. Oh, and Beca doesn't like Jesse, though he likes her. Bla!

Introduction:

Beca Mitchell wanted Chloe Beale. Bad. She'd spent the first couple of months of college dealing with it. And by the middle of October, she'd finally made it through all the stages.

It started with denial 0n day one. Chloe and Aubrey, her best friend and co-captain of the Bellas, had introduced themselves at the recruitment fair. And from the moment the redhead's powdery blue eyes collided with Beca's dark green ones, she was struck. The girl was unbelievably gorgeous. And the way her eyes had scanned over the brunette, sizing her up, had given Beca cold chills. She wasn't a social butterfly, by any means, but something about Chloe made her want to get closer, find out more, explore. She found the soft ivory of the other girl's skin to be captivating. She was entranced by the way she breathed in softly and her breasts rose and fell with her inhale and exhale. Her auburn curls fell around her face in exact symmetry and framed her cheeks, her jawline, her chin. And the girl's voice was... Well, it was spectacular. Flawless. Exquisite. Beca was drawn to basically every aspect of her.

And that totally, and completely freaked Beca out. Being that into someone that she'd only just met made her want to turn and run. And so she pretended, early on, that it was nothing but the casual curiosity that came with meeting someone new and unique. Beca came from a small town, and her high school had been full of assholes and losers. She kept to herself. This was the first real social interaction she'd had with someone that wasn't a cretin in... A long time. So it was to be expected. She wasn't attracted to Chloe, or so she told herself. She was just really interested in.. In the other girl's individuality.

It took about a week for denial to turn into anger. It was ridiculous that she couldn't get Chloe out of her mind! She wanted to find her again, properly introduce herself, maybe ask the girl if she wanted to hang out. And she couldn't come up with a single reason why, either. Beca was finally in college, and so she should have been out partying and having fun and being social, right? But instead of any of that, she was just sitting in her dorm room (being absolutely ignored by Kimmy Jin, her roommate) and thinking about a girl she'd barely even spoken. One afternoon she had even gotten on her facebook and scrolled through the girl's photos. With every click of the mouse, every scroll of the screen, Beca got more and more frustrated. Every picture she looked at, made her want to look at another. And it only got worse from there. She read her posts, looked through her interests, and a few hours later, her frustration and bewilderment turned into rage. Or at least more enhanced annoyance. Why couldn't she stop? She slammed her fist down on her desk and said "Ugg!" Kimmy Jin, of course, just rolled her eyes and continued to work on her biochemistry homework.

A few days later, when Chloe stepped into Beca's shower, and practically forced the completely naked brunnete to sing along to "Titanium", anger morphed very quickly into bargaining. Back in her room, toweling off, and trying to steady her shaking hands, she thought about the creamy white sweep of the other girl's abdomen. She thought about her perfectly rounded breasts, her perky pink nipples, and then, guiltily, she thought about the place between the other girl's thighs. She bit down hard, flexed the muscles in her jaws and climbed into bed, begging herself to think of anything else. Chloe lived in her dorm. She shared the same showers that Beca used. Her room was on the same floor. It was all too much. She started to wonder whether or not she should request a dorm change or something. She found herself thinking things like "If I just stay away from her, the feelings will go away," and "If I find a boyfriend, I can stay distracted." That was initally why she entertained Jesse's flirting.

But joining the Bella's made things worse and trying to avoid the other girl seemed fruitless. Due to their matching heights, Captain Aubrey paired the two of them together for choreography practice and so every Tuesday and Thursday, Chloe had her hands on Beca. She moved her arms to the beat, helped her position her body in the correct manner. It was torture. Even hanging out with Jesse and watching lame movies didn't help. She spent the entire time thinking about Chloe. She replayed, in her mind, practically everything that the girl had said to her throughout the day. They began texting. Beca responded too quickly, felt foolish, sat around overthinking her replies. Bargaining slipped into depression, and she started laying around, wishing that she'd never even gone to Barden in the first place, or at least not agreed to join the Bellas. She started to crave being around Chloe, and simultaneously, wanted to stay as far away from her as possible.

Now, Friday, the day before Fall Break, she'd finally approached the last stage- acceptance. It was a quiet epiphany that she had in Grammar, her last class of the day. She was sitting the back row, doodling a picture of a ship in the margin of her notes, and drowning out the incesant rambling of the professor. Kimmy Jin had already gone home for the break, and wouldn't be back until that following Thursday, for the classes. As a university, they got a full three days of break (not including the weekend). It wasn't exactly long enough to do anything exciting, but Beca was grateful for the temporary cessation of her studies. All she wanted to do was go back to her dorm and nap. Without Kimmy Jin there, she could sleep as long as she wanted, and then stay up super late as a consequence. And she wouldn't have anyone else to consider. Only, as she pondered what she would do over the next five days, she realized something- she HAD no plans. The student-ran radio station was closed for the break, and so without class or work, she was free from responsibility. And for some reason, in deciding what she would do, her mind instantly went to Chloe. Had the redhead mentioned any plans yesterday at practice? Was she going home? She couldn't help but hope that she wasn't. Aubrey had announced to the group that she was driving up to Maine to see her grandparents, and a few of the other girls had voiced their plans. Amy was skipping all of her classes Friday, taking a plane to Australia that morning and not coming back until the weekend after Fall break ended. Beca couldn't remember if Chloe had said anything or not. And anxiously, she began tapping her pen on her desk.

That was when it happened. A boy next to her leaned over and asked her to stop tapping her pen, and THEN, as she glared back at him, and considered hitting him in the forehead with it, she realized something. She liked Chloe. She really, really liked Chloe. And not just in this simple, platonic way either. She was into her.

She thought about the girl naked, for God's sake, and every single fucking Tuesday and Thursday, she put a little more effort into her wardrobe, just to impress her. She'd learned the girl's shower routine (every night at eight), so that she could casually stroll in the bathroom at 8:15 and catch her as she was strutting back to her room in just a towel. She knew Chloe's favorite food (potato soup) and her favorite beverages (hot coffee with two creams, three sugars, or Vanilla Coke). She knew that the redhead was a music education major, and was employed as a desk worked in their dorm at the same hours Beca worked in the radio station (Monday and Wednesday from 5 to 10). She knew she was an only child, and lived in Hartford Connecticut in a huge house with her mother and grandfather, about three hours from where Barden was located. She knew a lot of stuff about the girl, like, that she prefered cats over dogs but liked dogs too, that her favorite movie was The Phantom of the Opera, and that she'd been doing yoga for years. Beca was especially interested in that last one, because sometimes she would do yoga at Bellas meetings, and the way her leggings fit her thights and stretched over her ass when she bent over was enough to cause the younger girl to bite her lip.

It was just pointless to deny it anyone- Beca Mitchell wanted Chloe Beale. She wanted her in absolutely any way she could have her, and the feeling only got more and more intense the longer nothing happened. Beca had began to akin the sensation of being around the other girl to the ticking of a time-bomb. Only, she had no idea how long the bomb had before it would explode. The pressure was incredible. And though, she nearly suffocated from it all when she was near Chloe, she was totally sure that the feelings were one-sided. And that her insatiable hunger for her would remain just that- insatiable.

She had accepted the fact that she wanted her. That was hard enough. But now she felt as though she had to accept that it was hopeless. They would never be more than friends.


	2. Chapter 2

The Weight of Unraveling

Part 2

Beca picked her backpack up out of the floor and slung it over her shoulder. Class was over, so that just meant one thing- naptime. She followed her classmates out of the room and down the stairs to the front door of the english department building. But having been in a middle classroom with no windows, she was unhappy to see that there was a sudden downpour, that seemed to have no intentions of stopping. And so, sighing, she stepped out to stand underneath the awning, and wait for it to calm down to at least a drizzle.

"Hey," a familiar voice said, over the roar of the rain. "Beca."

She turned to face Jesse Swanson, wearing a dark hoodie, the hood pulled up around his face. He grinned at her. "What's up?" she asked him.

He shrugged, but he kept smiling; he was always so happy to see her that it sometimes made her feel totally guilty. "Not much. Getting ready to get in my car and drive home to see my parents. What about you?"

Beca realized she hadn't actually ever asked the guy where he was from. And trapped by the weather, she decided that now was as good a time as any. "Yeah? How far away are they?"

"Five hours," he replied. "I'm from Maryland. You're from Vermont, right?"

She wasn't really suprised that he knew where she was from; he took the inititiative to find out like everything about her. That made her feel guilty too. "Yeah my mom is," she told him. "Willico Vermont. It's like ten hours away. I'm staying here for the break."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Can you at least hang out with your dad?"

Her dad taught on campus and lived in town. But she wasn't as close to him as she was her mom. That's why she'd lived with her throughout school. "Nah, he's going on a business trip to Washington state for the break. I'm just going to hang out in my room."

He frowned. "Oh, if I knew you'd be alone, I woulda stayed here!" He shook his head, looked kinda embarassed. "I just mean, so we coulda hung out, ya know?"

"I know," she gave him a polite smile. "But you should go see your parents. I'm probably just gonna catch up on sleep and make some mixes. I'll be a total bore."

"You're never a bore," he said. Then he pulled out his phone and checked the time. "Man, it's almost four. I told my parents I'd be on the road by four thirty and I still have to pack. I'm gonna have to make a run for it." He gave her a sympathetic look. "I don't wanna abandon you here, but I really gotta go."

Beca shrugged. "Hey, I'm fine. You go." He gave her quick hug and then took off into the rain, his backpack bouncing as he ran along the sidewalk and out of sight. She slid her hands into her pockets and wished that she'd worn a thicker jacket or brought an umbrella. She was chilly and she wasn't even wet yet. She only had on a pair of dark skinny jeans and an aztec print sweater, and chucks. It looked pretty hipster and comfy, but it didn't offer much warmth. After a few minutes of feeling the cool wind push under the awning and threaten to pelt her with stray raindrops, she'd backed up almost flush with the door.

She felt her thoughts slip into the familiar territory of Chloe Beale. She pulled out her phone and navigated to their last text message conversation. She'd texted her that very morning, wishing her a great Friday. It was silly to do, since they lived on the same floor and she could have just walked down the hall and knocked on her door. Except maybe not, because Chloe dormed with Aubrey and Aubrey was a big stickler on no visitors when she was there. She was incredibly anal and controlling and Chloe was aparently the only one that had enough patience to deal with her.

Anyways, she stood there, watching the rain, scrolling through her texts, and wondering if she should send a new one when arms slid around her waist and she nearly dropped the thing onto the concrete.

"Hi Sweetie," Chloe said, her lips only an inch or so from the younger girl's ear.

Beca tensed, automatically, the tickle of the redhead's breath making her heart speed up, the other girl's voice making her breath catch in her throat temporarily. "Chloe.." she returned, unable to think of any other way to greet her.

She was promptly released from the embrace as Chloe moved to stand in front of her. "How long have you been waiting?" she asked, reaching forward a nimble hand, to tuck some of the brunette's dark hair behind her ear. She was always doing little things like that and making Beca crush even harder.

"Eh, about ten minutes. And it's been raining this hard the entire time." As she spoke, thunder rumbled loudly, and she shivered. "Shit, I didn't know it was going to storm." She hated storms. She really fucking hated storms.

Chloe's eyes searched the other girl's face. "I think it's supposed to storm all night. I don't think it's going to let up any time soon. Did you walk here?"

Thier dorm, Keith, was on the other side of campus. Beca had a car, but she wasn't huge on driving it. She was more of a headphones-and-walking kinda girl. "Yeah," she said, "Now I'm totally regretting it." She looked down at her shoes, and then back to the other girl. She was having a hard time trying to fight her feelings- on one had she was totally excited to be around Chloe, but then at the same time, she was really kinda terrified of thunderstorms. The combination of both emotions were kinda making her incredibly anxious.

"Well," Chloe said, "I drove. I parked over there," she pointed to the lot that directly touched the building, and then pulled her keys out of her purse and hit a button and the car started. That was something that kind of intimated Beca- Chloe was rich and totally feminine. She wore spring dresses and heels on normal occassions, as everyday outfits. She drove a white Volvo, and had a pet horse named Paris, and had like all the latest technology. Beca wasn't poor, by any means, but she wasn't rich either. Her father had money, yeah, but until that past August, she had lived with her mom in a ranch-style home, pretty modestly. And she definitely wasn't that feminine. If she didn't dress like a hipster, she dressed like a Tumblr-lesbian (sweats and long sleeved tees and sporty brands). She totally didn't carry a purse either. They were really different in that aspect, and she didn't know if that made them compatible or not. That was, of course, overlooking the fact that Chloe was a girl and probably completely straight anyway.

Beca and Chloe ran across the parking lot and jumped in the car before they were absolutely drenched. But even after hurrying, they were still really spotted with rain. Chloe's curls sparkled with raindrops. She ran one hand through them and then gave Beca one of the smiles that made the brunette weak. "Good thing I caught you before you tried to run home in it, hmm?"

"Yes," Beca nodded, and tried to tell her heart to slow down, and her hands to stop shaking. "I'm glad you did." Then she had a thought, and she said, as the other girl turned to place her purse in the back seat. "What are your plans for the break?"

Chloe put the car into drive and then pulled out of the parking lot as lightning lit up the sky. "Oh, mmm," she said, aparently not affected by the storm at all. "My mom asked me to come home but I don't know if I want to make that drive by myself. It's so long."

Beca bit the insides of her cheeks and then replied before she could convince herself not to- "I could go with you."

The car pulled to a stop at the only light between the english building and their dorm. "Oh?" Chloe turned to face her, one hand on the wheel, the other on her knee. "You wanna go home with me?" She seemed a little surprised.

"Yeah," Beca said. "I mean I would. If you wanted me to." She felt a little silly practically inviting herself to Chloe's house. But the possibility of getting to know the other girl more was too good to pass up.

"Of course I would love you to come home with me," she said, and then reached out touched Beca's cheek with her fingertips. "I love spending time with you." Then the light changed and Chloe drove them the rest of the way back, pulling into the closest possible parking space.

But it was still raining hard, and the wind had really picked up, and the rolling thunder was so loud it seemed to shake the car once it had stopped. The brunette clenched her fists, and squinted her eyes shut when the lightning shot across the darkness once more. As a kid, she'd watched lightning take down the biggest tree in their back yard. It had fallen backward, crashed into the roof, and one of the limbs had came in through Beca's window and nearly hit her as she lay in her bed. Ever since, she'd been terrified of storms.

"Hey," Chloe said, and her hand fell on Beca's knee. "You okay?"

"Storms," the brunette replied. "I really hate storms."

"Then we need to get inside before it gets worse." Her fingers undid Beca's seatbelt and then she turned to get her purse, while Beca got her backpack from the floor. "Ready?"

The lot wasn't as close to the dorm as the one by the english building had been, so they ran a little faster. Luckily, Chloe had worn jeans and Toms, so she didn't have to worry about tripping on the slippery sidewalk in her heels. Beca drug her key out of her pocket and FOB, so that she could swipe them both in. But even the second it took to do that was long enough to soak both of them the rest of the way. As they checked in at the front desk, their limp hair dripped down their shoulders.

On the elevator up to the fifth floor, Beca rang out her hair. "Well, I dunno about you, but I feel like a wet dog."

Chloe laughed, "A very cute wet dog."

Beca's heart flipped. It was the more innocent of compliments, but it had the same effect on her that blatant flirting probably would have with anyone else. She tried not to seem like it got to her though, and she bit her bottom lip and adjusted her backpack as the doors opened up to let them out of the elevator. "Thanks," she mumbled.

Chloe lived at one end of the hall, and Beca on the other, and the elevator was in the middle. And so the two stood for a second unwilling to part ways immediately.

"If I go," Chloe said, "I'll probably leave tomorrow around ten. Is that too early for you?" She paused, and rang out her hair as well with one hand. "Are you serious about going?"

"Yes," Beca nodded. And then, accompanied by a crack of lightning, the light flooded out of the hall, and the two were submerged into darkness. "Oh fuck," Beca cursed, and spun around. "Dammit..."


	3. Chapter 3

The Weight of Unraveling

Part 3

Chloe didn't mind storms. In all actuality, she liked them. Thunder and lightning were dangerous, sure, but she found the danger to be exciting. And now that the electricity had gone out, she was sort of invigorated.

But she knew Beca didn't feel the same way, and for some reason, that made her even more excited. She had a really deep connection with the girl, and knowing that she was frightened unlocked the incredibly protective side of her. She stepped forward in the darkness, let a sixth sense guide her to Beca's side, and then she slid her hand into hers.

"C'mon Sweetie," she purred, trying to sound as soothing as possible. "Come with me."

Beca didn't say anything, just followed the redhead's lead and walked carefully down the hallway at her side. She was well-aware that her fingers were linked with Chloe's and even though she was scared out of her wits by the storm and the lack of lights caused by the storm, she felt this strange sense of calm wash over her the second their hands touched. She could hear the rain pouring outside and above them (they were on the top floor), but for the moment, she felt disconnected from that.

Chloe got her phone out of her purse and used the flashlight ap to light up her door enough to unlock it. Her hand slid out of Beca's only long enough to open it and allow her entrance. And she was pulling the girl into the small space.

"Aubrey went home already. So it's just you and me," she said, her voice quiet but still audible over the storm. "Hold on. I'm going to light some candles." She Beca standing there and then stepped away, towards her desk, putting down her purse and keys. She rummaged for a minute in the top drawer and pulled out a few votive candles and a box of matches. Beca's eyes followed the glow of the match as she lit the wics, and then, comforted by the glow of four candles, (Chloe left one on each end of the desk, put one by the vanity sink in the corner, and put the last one on her nighstand) she felt a little safer. She put her backpack down and then went to stand by her friend. In the darkness, as her eyes adjusted, she started to make out the room.

This was actally the first time she'd ever been in Chloe's room, due to Aubrey's rules, and so fascinated, she took in as much as she could see. Chloe had a thick yoga mat laying parallel to her bed, almost like a rug. Her comforter was celestial print, with stars and the sun and the moon and the zodiacs all decorating it in a huge circle. She had white pillow cases with tiny stars dotting them. There was a fabric poster of a mythological mermaid above her bed, and in addition to the candles on her desk and nighstand, she had a tiny zen garden, and tons of books on Buddism, meditation, and astrology. Beca ran her fingers over their spines and then turned back to Chloe.

"I didn't know you were into..."

"Eastern philosophy?" Chloe came to stand by her friend. "Very much." And then, witnessing Beca's subdued shiver, she reached out a hand and stroked the younger girl's upper arm with her thumb. "You're cold."

"A little," Beca admitted. "But it's cool, really. I'll dry off eventually."

Chloe laughed. "Beca," she said. Then she turned and went to her closet. There was a Joni Mitchell poster on the front of it, and Beca looked at it curiously. Her mother listened to Joni Mitchell. She was a 70's female peace singer.

"I know Joni Mitchell," she said, and watched Chloe rummage around for clothes.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. My mom likes her."

"She's pretty lovely," Chloe replied, and then spun, clothes draped over her arms. "How wet are you?"

It was a simple question, but the interpretations of the question were myriad. Beca stuttered, "Um, I mean... I'm..."

The redhead lay the clothing on her bed and then she came up to her friend. "What's the matter? Do storms scare you that badly?" Honestly, seeing Beca like this was refreshing. She adored the girl normally, but witnessing her so frail and disarmed was intriguing. Beca had this air about her that made her come off as a total badass. She let things roll off her shoulders, and Chloe found her independence totally attractive. But the storm had her stuttering. Or at least something did. Chloe wanted nothing more than to soothe her, and so that's what she did, pulling her into her arms and rubbing her shoulders with her palms. "Get undressed. I'll warm you up, alright? And if the electricity comes back on, I'll make us some tea. How does that sound?"

"I..." Beca's heart was thudding against her chest. Even soaked with rain, Chloe's scent was intoxicating. She took a deep breath and felt incredibly light-headed. Then she lifted her chin, looked into her friend's eyes, and shadowed face. The candle flickerered behind them and cast a golden glow on her pale cheeks. "...should go to my room."

"Don't be silly," Chloe responded, bringing one hand between them, to push some of Beca's wet hair out of her face. "Just stay here tonight. That way I can make sure you're up in time to leave with me tomorrow."

Beca's mouth went dry. Was Chloe suggesting they have a sleep over? "I don't have any clothes.." She rationalized.

"I know that," she laughed. "You can wear mine. I'll help you pack tomorrow, alright?"

"I..."

"Get undressed."

Chloe let go of Beca and then turned and handed her a tee shirt, and a pair of yoga pants. In the soft light Beca read 'Sawyer High Cheerleading Squad'. Chloe had been a cheerleader. It figured. She turned around, so her back was to the other girl and peeled off her shirt, kicked off her shoes, and then rolled down her jeans. "Ugg," she said, "I'm soaked like, all the way through."

"So go commando," Chloe said, her voice serious. "I'm going to."

Beca held back a whimper at that thought. She unhooked her bra and then took off her panties. Then she pulled on the yoga pants and the tee. Almost immediately, she felt a towel draped around her shoulders. "For your hair," she was told.

She rubbed her hair dry and then she lay the towel with her clothes on the floor, and turned back around. Chloe was leaning against her bed, her curls much dryer, framing her face again. She had on light grey yoga pants and a white Barden Bellas tee. She smiled at Beca. "You look cute in my clothes."

The brunette licked her lips. She could see the gentle curve of Chloe's breasts under the thin fabric of the tee. She sucked in a breath. How was she supposed to sleep next to her all night? "You look cute like twenty-four-seven," she said, before she realized how it came out.

"Do I?" Chloe's eyebrows lifted. "C'mere Beca."

The distance between them closed and the redhead's hands went to the brunette's waist. She spun her in her arms so that Beca's back was to Chloe's chest.

"Chloe," Beca said, doing her very best to regulate her breathing. "What are you doing?"

"Holding you."


	4. Chapter 4

The Weight of Unraveling

Part 4

In Chloe's arms, Beca found an all new stage of acceptance. She closed her eyes and let the other girl's thumbs slip under the edge of the tee shirt she had borrowed, and brush lightly against the bones of her hips. There was only one thing going through her mind at that moment- euphoria.

"How are you and Jesse?" Chloe asked, her lips nearly touching Beca's ear again.

"Jesse?" Beca returned, her eyes still closed, lost in the moment. "Who?"

"The Treblemaker."

"Oh. Him. We're just friends."

Chloe's lips got closer, so that when she spoke, they brushed the other girl's ear. "Why is that?"

"He's not my type," Beca replied, and tilted her head to one side, baring her neck to the other girl. She really had no idea what she was doing, or what she expected, but it was impossible not to react when Chloe was being so... Irresistable.

Even so, moments ticked by before either of them moved or spoke again. And then the redhead whispered, this time her lips brushing the skin stretching beneath the brunette's ear, "What is your type Beca Mitchell?"

Releasing a quiet sigh, the younger girl's eyes opened. She was suddenly back in the moment, and realizing what was happening made heart flutter. Chloe had her hands on her waist, and her lips on her neck and she'd just asked Beca a question that was liable to get her into so much trouble. She had to provide the perfect answer, and so she said, "I'm not really sure what my type is. How about you?"

Chloe's thumbs stilled, her breath pressed warmly against Beca's skin. She hesitated in her answer, her chest rising and falling to meet Beca's back, the brunette's damp hair cool against her cheek. "I have an idea," she cooed, "But I'm not ready to find out if it's possible." She let her hands fall then and then she slid out from behind the other girl and moved to the other side of the room. "What sort of tea would you like later?"

Beca blinked, stunned at the sudden loss of contact. "I, um..." She ran a hand through her hair. "What kind of idea?"

"Oh, it's really not important," she said, picking up a large tin off of her desk. "Anyway, I have green, mint, chai, cinnamon..."

"Chloe."

"I have some breakfast tea too," she continued, "But it's late, so."

"CHLOE."

The redhead sat the tin back down. "Beca. I really don't know how to respond to your question. I meant what I said. I have an idea of what sort of person I'm into, but I'm not ready to experiment with that yet. Alright?" Her words came out a bit more stern than she had meant them, but it was unavoidable. It was a sensitive subject. Still, she didn't want to leave the air heavy, and so she added, "What do you want to do until the lights come back on?"

Beca felt a little bit ruffled, and a lotta bit confused. So she just played with the hem of her shirt. "I dunno. Whatever you want." Then, because it was on her mind, she said, "I can leave if this is weird for you." It was still storming, but now the atmosphere felt funny, and she kind of just wanted to get away.

The angst that had settled on the redhead's shoulders melted away. "Oh Sweetie," she frowned, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like it sounded." She stepped back up, took the younger girl's hands in hers. "I bet I have battery on my Mac. Do you want to watch a movie?"

"I dunno.."

"It's only seven. We could have a move marathon."

Beca opened her mouth to say that she didn't usually watch a lot of movies, just as she had with Jesse, but no words came out. She thought about laying in Chloe's bed, under her blankets, incredibly close to the other girl, the laptop laying on their legs. She thought about rolling over... "Okay," she said.

Chloe smiled brightly, and then she turned, got her Mac off her desk, unplugged it from the power cord and then came back to the bed. She pulled down the comforter and then the sheets with one hand and then hopped up, sliding her legs beneath the covers. Then she leaned forward, opening the Mac and then sitting it on her nightstand, and patted the matress with her hand.

"Wait," Beca said. She tilted her head to one side. Did Chloe want to spoon with her? She swallowed, and then she went to the bed, crawled up and sat, kinda awkwardly, on the edge. "Do you want me to...?"

"Don't be silly," Chloe said. "Lay down."

The brunette did as she was asked and she lay down, so her back was once again against the other girl's chest. And then once they were like that, Chloe's arm wrapped around Beca's stomach.

"What do you want to watch?"

Once again submerged in euphoria, Beca couldn't think of a single movie. "Could we nap instead?"

Chloe propped herself up on one arm, and looked down at the side profile of the younger girl. Her eyes scanned the sweep of her jaw, the gentle curve of her ear, the soft skin of her throat. She lifted her hand and stroked the side of Beca's face. Being around her was deafening. It was as if the volume of everything but her reduced to zero. Chloe couldn't pretend to not know why. She just didn't want to accept it. She was a Senior in college, and before Beca arrived, she'd had no trouble going on dates with guys and ya know, being intimate with them. It wasn't anything especially exciting, but it kept her satiated. Only now...things were different. "If that's what you want," she said, her voice quiet in the darkness. "I'll have to blow out the candles. I don't want to leave them burning if we're going to be asleep."

Beca rolled over, onto her back, and looked up into the redhead's face. The closest candle was on the nighstand and it offered little illumination. So Chloe's face was shadowed, and she could barely make out the glimmer of her eyes. "Chloe, what did you mean by experiment?"

"Let me blow out the candles, and then..."

"Just tell me."

"Don't you want to nap?"

"Chloe. Please."

There was a long silence, and then- "What did you think I meant?"


	5. Chapter 5

The Weight of Unraveling

Part 5

Beca and Chloe were seemingly suspended in space. Moments slipped away, and then Beca said, "You're really pretty, did you know that?"

"I am?" the older girl let her fingers slide down Beca's jaw again. "I think you are much prettier."

"Tell me more."

A smile. "The way your eyes sparkle when you're happy. The way you fidget when you're nervous. The way you sing." Her fingers traced the outline of Beca's jaw. She took a deep breath. "The shape of your lips. How you lick them before you speak." Another hesitation. "We should nap. Please."

"No. Go on. Tell me more."

Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. "Beca..."

A moment like this was far overdue, and there was absolutely no way that Beca was about to let it get prematurely cut short. She brought her hand up and wrapped it around the other girl's jaw, and guided her near, so their faces were in close proximity. Then, in the reduced distance, she said again, "Tell me more Chloe."

"I like how you tense when I touch you. The way your breath catches when I put my lips to your ear. I love the way you smell- like cinnamon and vanilla. The way you move your hand to the beat when you improv at the acca-practices. How you get hot-headed when Aubrey bosses you around. The tattoos on your back. The piercings in your right ear, and the lack of piercings in your left ear." Chloe paused, lowered her face even more, proping herself up with both hands, her legs to one side, so she was laying diagonally above her. "Is this what you want to hear?"

Beca could feel Chloe's breath on her lips, and her heart was practically thudding against her ribs. She closed her eyes, and then reopened them slowly, sort of drunkenly. Somewhere it was still raining, still storming. She didn't care. She twisted some of Chloe's hair around her index finger and then released it. She drug her fingertips from the girls temple to her chin. "More," she prompted.

"I like the way your fingers feel on my skin."

"You do?"

Wrapping her hand around the younger girls wrist, and balancing on one hand, she brought Beca's hand to her waist, guiding it under her shirt, so that her palm was flush with the skin of her waist. "How long have you wanted to touch me, Beca?"

It was a loaded question. Responding with the correct answer blew Beca's cover. They could still recover from this. She could still get away, run back to her room and hide under a cloak of hetersexuality. But. Then. She could take the risk. God knew she was dying to. "How long have you wanted me to touch you?" she replied, evenly. She pushed her hand up a little further, felt the impression of the other girl's ribs beneath her skin. She traced them slowly, carefully.

Chloe's eyes fluttered closed, and she focused on how close Beca's hand was to her breast. She breathed in jaggedly, already much too excited. And then she offered, "Pretty much since the day I met you."

Beca slid her other hand up, lifted the front of Chloe's tee, exposing the entirety of her stomach. She drug her other hand down the length of it, hooked her fingers in the band of her pants, and then, when her fingers collided with bare skin instead of the band of her panties, she yanked back. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, "I forgot..." Their eyes met and they were thrown into a long moment of indecision. The tension was amazing as the skirted the line between whatever it was they were and whatever it was they could be. Neither of them were breathing normally. It was if those seconds extended on into eternity.

And then, as quickly as it had formed, the tension broke, and their mouths crashed together in a heated kiss. Chloe's body lowered, pressed against Beca's, and their hands tangled in each other's still damp hair. Moments passed and then Chloe's tongue slid across Beca's lower lip and their lips parted, allowing them to pushing sighs into each other's mouths. The kiss heated up. Chloe's hands left Beca's face and ran down her shoulders, to her arms. She slid one hand under Beca's back and held her closer. Their legs kicked at the covers until the sheets were tangled. Still, neither of them cared.

Eventually, their lips strayed, or Chloe's did, kissing along Beca's jaw, down her throat, to her collar bones. Her hands pushed the cheerleading shirt up, and her fingers traced her navel, her rib cage, dared to climb higher. The DJ grabbed the other girl's face, brought her back into another kiss, her back arching just slightly at the redhead's touch. Chloe's leg pushed between Beca's thighs and at the contact, the brunette moaned. And then it was over.

Chloe rolled off of her, laying on her back, catching her breath. "We have to stop," she said, trying her best to get the sound of Beca's moan out of her head.

Beca's head was spinning, her mind was reeling, and her body was on fire with want. She put her hands over her eyes and sucked in a breath as deeply as she could, before letting it snake back out between her lips. "Shit," she fiinally said. "What was that?"

"Good question."

"Should I leave?"

"No." Chloe got up, slipped off the bed, and blew out the candles. She locked the door, and then crawled back up, slid back under the covers, shook them back untangled, and then pulled Beca's back to her. "Nap with me," she said, "We'll figure out everything else when we wake up."

About a million thoughts were tumbling around in Beca's mind. "I don't know if I can sleep right now," she admitted.

"Why?"

"You know why."

Chloe bit her bottom lip, remembering the way Beca's mouth had tasted.. How her hands had felt on her abdomen. She wanted more. She really, really wanted more. "Tell me that you wanted that as badly as I did."

"You have no idea."


End file.
